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Hello again haters and congratulators. I’m right back like I left the
stove on. This is a BIG one, Meek Mill’s Championships. I’m unveiling a
new format for this one. I’ll be telling you what I like, didn’t like and
thought was BS about every album I review. I’ll do track by track reviews
occasionally. This was mostly for all you remedial English class
motherf*****s out there. All those that looked shook like you
were gonna get picked for the hunger games when the teacher
was picking people to read aloud in class. Yeah all you out there, I
shortened the format for y’all. No need to thank me, I know you’re all
thankful. That being said here we go, the Dr. is IN.

Full disclosure: I didn’t start out a Meek fan:quite the opposite. I
thought his first album was basura. I had to be persuaded over the years
by my man @carretta24 among others, until finally after hearing Dream Chasers 4 and
then Wins & Losses. I actually gave the latter, Album of the Year on the A-side B-side Podcast Pilot episode and music wrap up for last year. Now, onto Championships.

The Good:

Coming off the 2017 album of the year (Wins and Losses), the bar was higher than it ever has been for Meek.
Especially since he spent some hard time in the bing, I was really
looking forward to seeing how that would change him. The answer:
it made him appreciate and celebrate. It taught him to be more
thoughtful and introspective. These are all new facets of his
song-making ability. Any-motherf*****g-way, there’s a lot good on
Championships; his songwriting improved from his time in the can (that’s
what they call jail on the sopranos, I’ve been binge watching the whole
thing again so pardon me paisans). He didn’t come out super vengeful like 'Pac did after he did his time.

Here, we find Meek taking stock of his
life and state of his career. He's very clever with a flip of
Biggie's timeless What’s Beef on What’s Free featuring an OUTSTANDING
verse by Joe Camel himself Jay Hova, and an equally garbage juice verse
by Ro$$ aka Officer Ricky (how the mighty have fallen. He used to be my
favorite artist at one point). The title track or the soul-baring Cold Hearted 2 (make sure you stay for the end of that song)”
and the standout “Oodles O Noodles Babies (prolly one of his deepest
songs ever period). Meek really grew on this album, in every category.
From the beats standpoint, you could make the case Meek
has the best ear for beats in the game today. The samples are FLAWLESSLY
done. I respect him flipping Lonnie Smith's Garden of Peace made famous
by Dead Presidents (C'mon son, s**t was brilliant). I
could go on, but you get the picture. Ross used to have the golden ear
for beats, now Meek has it. Feature wise I wasn’t mad: Ross and Jay on
what’s free and Ella Mai on 24/7 which flipped my favorite Beyoncé song, Me myself and I were both fire. Bardi showed up flexing fluently on “On Me” and even Aubrey the lovable Houston/Jamaican/Memphis/Dominican/Oakland Thug showed up on the not-trash-but-not-great “going bad”. All in all
the tracklist was star studded and each guy/girl showed up and showed
out.

The Bad:

To be honest there’s not much bad here. Some of the features weren’t
great (Future, Young Thug with Meek on a track should’ve been a sure
thing, but instead Splash Warning is probably one of the two pure duds
on the album. That's sad because I really f**ks with both Future and
Thug, but the track was extra regular to me. Also, the song Almost Slipped was kinda wack too. If it’s one thing Meek isn’t great at, its
making girl songs. What’s worse is he usually puts more than a
couple of em on each album. Unfortunately he had that 24/7 song with
Ella Mae on there, or maybe it was just me loving the sample (who the
f**k knows). Dangerous, which he as the lead single, is on
here too. I didn’t hate it but the broads were quoting it on their IG’s
all summer so I guess it was a hit. Also a couple of songs toward the
end were filler to me, but I didn’t all the way hate them.

The Peanut Butter and Jelly Bulls**t:

Again, not much here other than
Ross giving 0 effort on the What’s Free. Like seriously big
homie? You knew Jay was gonna be on the track, and you didn’t make a
better verse than that?! What in the actual f**k Ross. Your verse on
there didn’t even fit the song and it was trash on top of that. You
should’ve hired the same n***a that writes for Aubrey next time man. Get
you some better material. Also like I said that Future song was wack
too. It makes me nervous because it’s been awhile since we’ve
gotten some fire from him. You better be making DS3, and it better be hot
because you’ve been dropping the ball all over the place recently my
man. Also, let’s be honest this album was great but that cover??!
Cmon Meek, it looks like someone in your team made that back in like 06
and you found it and use it. That album cover was ALL BAD.
Plus the only n***as that can ice out their album covers are the Cash Money n***as. All of those covers were FUEGO back in the day, and if
don’t think so you’re a lame.

There you have it, Meek comes off of the worse stretch of his life, when
the chips were all the way down, and the pressure couldn’t be greater
and turns in his best work yet. Congrats Meek, you walked thought the
fire with gasoline timbs on and came out the other side. Philly stand
up, Eagles fans sit all the way the F**K DOWN. Modern day classic rap
album in my opinion. I never thought I’d see the day I’d say that about a Meek album.

What's The Movement

Multimedia Journalist, Founder and Chief Editor of WTM Host of A-Side B-Side Podcast and more. I like to talk about stuff and write it down. Sometimes to a microphone. Either way, I need you to feel this.

About The Editor

Hi, I'm Jonathan C. Ramsey and I'm the founder/Chief Editor of WTM. I'm a Multi-Media Journalist, On-Air Personality, Disc Jockey, Podcast and Event Host. Most of all I'm a God Fearer, Son, Brother, and Friend. I like to talk about stuff and write it down. Sometimes behind a microphone. Either way, I need you to feel this.

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Music, Art, Culture, Lifestyle, Forward Mobility What's the Movement began as a college radio show and small music blog hosted on tumblr. It's evolved into a multi-media platform currently hosting a Podcast, Web Series, Documentaries, and other programs in progress. We're more than just a blog. We are the filter for the masses. We are What's The Movement.